Israel ramps up Lebanon operations, strikes 70+ Hezbollah targets

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched fresh waves of airstrikes across Lebanon, hitting more than 70 Hezbollah infrastructure sites, using around 85 munitions.IDF, in a post on X, said that in the area of Tyre, 10 command centres, weapons storage facilities and additional infrastructure sites used by Hezbollah were struck."Additionally, Hezbollah terrorists operating on motorcycles were eliminated," the IDF added.Additionally, the Israel Air Force attacked the Hezbollah organisation's infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley and several additional areas in Lebanon.Al Jazeera, citing Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), reported that Israeli air strikes have killed seven people and left several others wounded.According to the agency, an air attack on Machgharah killed five people, injured multiple others, and forced rescue teams to evacuate survivors from beneath the rubble of targeted homes.Another strike on Kouthariyeh el-Siyad killed two people and wounded two others, Al Jazeera reported.Additionally, Israel's Home Front Command announced new restrictions in northern Israel's border communities after the attacks."Effective Tuesday, outdoor gatherings will now be limited to 50 people, and indoor gatherings up to 200 people. Both are reduced from the previous limits of 200 outdoors and 600 indoors," Israel Home Front Command said.Local authorities in northern Israel have announced that schools will be closed tomorrow until further notice, The Times of Israel has reported.The strikes come right after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to "press the pedal even harder" against Hezbollah, after a US official signalled that Washington would approve a larger operation against the Iran-backed terror group amid a surge in drone attacks, Times of Israel reported."We are at war with Hezbollah. Just in recent weeks, our brave fighters have eliminated more than 600 terrorists," Netanyahu says in a video statement. "But we are not taking our foot off the gas. On the contrary, I have instructed them to press the pedal even harder."